Child Item

Suggestions wanted for backyard and side access landscaping

Hi,

We just moved into our newly built house recently and looking forward to doing some of the remaining work on our own.

Already got the blinds fitted on our own with suggestions from this always helpful forum.

Now its the outdoors.

We have a backyard space of 12.5m x 6.7m and also the side access as shown in the attached plan and photos.

Its not level with the alfresco floors both at the backyard and side and we think we might need around 0.5 to 1 feet to get it levelled.

- What steps do we need to take to get it to level? Do we need to just add some soil or should we add crushed rocks and then top soil so that we can have a lawn and also some space for gardening around the edge of the fence ?

Looking for some suggestions and plans as we are totally confused at this point?

Plan Plan. Backyard

Side Access

Find more posts tagged with

Tools and Materials

Gardening

Lawn

Landscaping

Comments

EricL

Hello @sanjurajan

Congratulations on moving into your new house! I'm a big fan of mini-golf and am not too fond of mowing grass, I suggest having a look at these options for the side access of your house - Backyard golf putting green by @homeinmelbourne, Side access landscaping by @hazesnow and Side yard access improved with concrete path by @Nham. I recommend having a look at this guide as well - How to plan a garden makeover by @Adam_W.

Making you're side-access a usable part of your house is always a plus instead of just something that is part of the yard. Turning it into a mini-golf course will keep your kids entertained and is a great way to do a family activity together. As for the larger part of the yard, you could make some of it as part of the mini-golf course combined with a regular garden layout.

Here is a link for ideas and inspiration: Top 10 most popular garden makeovers

Let me call on our experienced members @Jewelleryrescue and @diy_hausdesigns for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Jewelleryrescue

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/24071#Comment_24071

Well @sanjurajan

You certainly have a blank canvas to work it i know that feeling, Of coarse everything comes back to you personal live style and likes but I will add some ideas not to fancyfull and see if these ideas work for you.

Drawing has a key down the side for items you can think about.

So the main concept here is a mini maze with low plants and some 2-3 meter plants blocking the view across the yard giving the illusion of a bigger garden as you move around path different plants and different garden view untill you get to the purple zone.

Purple zone It could be your secret garden all raised beds just add soil. could be pond and seating and statue. Could be kids cubby house. could be outdoor room with roof. Gardina , or magnolias is lovly fragrent medium bushes good for blocking through view.

Use real grass or artifical lawn will save you owning a mower. Add brackets to the walls and hang plants on them to make those long alleys more cooler and people friendly. Lay black plastic and put in 5mm to 20 mm stones or concrete areas.

Hang the clothes line directly outside laundry in that lane way on the house wall . No need for sun as that alley is like a wind tunnel we have ours like that and no dramas. Use drier indoors on wet days.

You will love a smaller Japanesss maple in your yard it is house frendly no damaging roots and lovley autumn colours

Well there is some food for thought

ideas ideas

Jewelleryrescue

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/74692#Comment_74692

Here is a real Example

Of blocking direct line of sight it helps make a mystery of whats around the next bend and arriving in a new space. If you turn around well its a whole new place and view. A straight view and you see it in a glance.

If you have a rectangle yard with garden on outer edges you see it all in one glance and seeing it from the other side dosent really change the view.

I think the smaller the yard in todays homes this maze idea works as it can be made from flat garden panels too.

Here is a series of photos all taken while walking around a house a few meters apart every view is quite different. Now walk back the other way (not shown here) and your at a whole new place. Use objects in photos to help you navigate new photo positions,

Straight path mazed 1middle of maze 2out of the maze 3 Secret Tree gardenPath to next area 4Long side house with marble garden wallNote clothes line in wind tunnel house side + its right next laundry

FEATURES

- Made my garden in 3D by that i mean you look up at the tree Golden Elm and down into the lower path around the tree. Just sit on the bench on the other side of tree and the whole yard view changes yet again.

- I am using painted concrete steel trench mesh as rose arbore thingys

- loose stones crunch as you walk on them as a burglar warning. Note 5mm to 20mm stones cant easy be used as weapons or to smash house windows.

The last photo is clothes line right outside laundry so convenient 2 steps from washing machine as wind not the sun dries clothes quickly here.

- Flat path designed wide enough for wheel chair but over stones ? also my builders barrow at need.

EricL

Hi @Jewelleryrescue

Let me tag @sanjurajan to make them aware of your added suggestions. Using plants to block the line of sight definitely helps to break up the image of a small area. Having a maze-like layout adds a sense of discovery and gets you curious as to what is on the other side.

Eric

sanjurajan

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/24071#Comment_24071

Thanks, @EricL for these great suggestions and ideas. We particularly liked your tip about making the side access a usable part of the yard.

We liked the looks of pavers with white stones better than the plain concrete side access that you shared in this project and here.

- Are there any cons with pavers/stone combination instead of concreting in terms of protection against pests/termites and rains against the house walls? Asking because I see concreting commonly done in most of the side accesses.

- I have taken quotes for concreting. I wanted to compare it with the cost of using pavers/stones. The side access area to put pavers/stones is 0.8m X 20m on one side and 0.8m X 13m. Could you please share the materials that we will need to get it done ourselves?

Cheers

Sanju

sanjurajan

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/74692#Comment_74692

Hi @Jewelleryrescue

Wow! this is so kind of you. Thanks so much for taking the time to draw up a plan with all those ideas and suggestions.

This is like a mega project for beginners like us and it's so overwhelming. We are going to divide and conquer and definitely take many of the ideas you have put forward here as small projects as we go.

We particularly liked your mini maze and secret garden idea, the Japanese maple in the front, the wall cloth line idea next to laundry, hanging plants around house.

Cheers

Sanju

Jewelleryrescue

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/100982#Comment_100982

Hi @sanjurajan

You guys are doing the right smart thing if you make a plan of your own incorperating your favorite ideas you can much more easily divide those projects up into bite size projects. It is also import to see how to marry one space into the next.

For a new home owner a tip :go get a few A3 photo copies (10 each inside and outside) of your builders to scale house plans to draw your ideas on then you can go to carpet people and paver people etc and they can measure of your scale drawing and give you good quotes and see 100% what you need on the spot.

The mini maze garden bed is quite easy becase you are simply building boxes on top of your rocky looking ground and you fill them with garden mix soil and it is done.

Can I change some little details lol in the secret garden to no pond but a flat wall water feature would look and sound great.

Instead of hanging pots use flush wall mounted pots would look much nicer , under the windows down the sides consider planter boxes like they have on cottages in europe so those rooms see greenery. and or flowers up at window level.

I didnt want to say anything about pavers but while i am typing.

Talk to EricL more about pavers but they no so easy to install and get it right? and i personally dont like the weeds growing in them its a life long battle. Pavers not so cheap any more either i guess nothing is.

You can get stenciled concrete with paver patterns pressed into it and no little weeds and they will never move or sink.

This person @hazesnow did a nice job down the sides using artifical grass and panels on the colour bond fence.

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/74706#Comment_74706

Hello @sanjurajan

The pavers from the pebble path are the Adbri Masonry 600 x 300 x 40mm Charcoal Boulevard Paver and the pebbles are the Tuscan Paths 10kg 10 - 20mm Smooth Cream Pebbles. To achieve nice clean lines of division I suggest looking at the Garden Edging products. The type of paver and pebble you want to use is up to you, especially if you are after a different colour combination. To prevent weeds and grass from growing in your path simply put in some weed mat. This will stop the weeds from coming out but will allow water to pass through.

The good part about using pavers is that if you change your mind in the future you can either remove them or change their layout. You can use a builder's line to make sure that your paving layout is perfect. You can also put them in a staggered position if you are doing the maze layout. From a D.I.Y. perspective, this is a very achievable project and can be accomplished with proper planning.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Jewelleryrescue

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/100985#Comment_100985

@EricL

What do you suggest for the long term weeds growing in the cracks from top down?

All I can think of doing as endless weed killing with poision which isnt good for pets or animals some times they also try eat some greenry at times.

A pressure washer helps it will cut weeds out too a certain degree,..

Stone pebbles they will grow and are easy to pull out early on and concrete well we are in serious trouble if weeds grow through that.

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/117407#Comment_117407

Hi @Jewelleryrescue

Preparation is the key to having a weed-free paved area. Weeds are very tenacious plants and will sprout at the first hint of sun and water. If you leave your backyard for just two weeks you'll immediately see where the weeds are growing in and where they've concentrated to grow. Manually removing these weeds before you prepare the surface will save you from having to remove them in the future.

Once the weeds have been pulled out, I suggest putting on paving sand to level the area. You'll need to compact the paving sand with a compactor to get a nice level. This is then followed by the installation of the pavers. It's important to use the weed mat immediately once the pavers are installed. Covering the surface and preventing sunlight from reaching the open soil will stop the weeds from growing.

The last step is to place the pebbles on top of the weedmat. As time moves forward the weedmat will eventually deteriorate, it's important to replace the areas that are worn out and where weeds have visibly broken through the pebbles. Tipping hot water in problem weed areas is an effective way of stopping future weed infestations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Child Item